A quite large number of surgical cover sheets, often referred to as surgical drapes, are known in the art. Many of the drapes are folded in specific manner to provide compactness, or to facilitate their application to the patient, or to lessen the possibility that sterile fields (such as a surgically prepared portion of a patient's body) are not accidentally contaminated during the draping procedure, or to provide a sterile cover for a non-sterile surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,335,719 discloses a surgical legging having a cuff at the open end and folded so as to facilitate application of the drape to the leg of a patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,534 discloses a folded surgical drape comprising a first stack of folds overlying a second stack of folds.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,381 discloses a multipurpose reinforced surgical drape which is so folded that the reinforced portion of the drape may be cut to form functional drapes for various surgical procedures.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,268 discloses a surgical drape useful in orthopaedic and related surgery. The drape may be folded as described in the patent into a compact unit which permits it to be easily and quickly unfolded and applied to the patient prior to surgery.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,926,185 discloses several surgical drapes and methods for folding same into compact units.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,738 discloses a surgical drape useful for draping the patient's head during surgery involving the eyes, ears, nose and throat. The drape is shortened longitudinally by fan-folding and thereafter shortened transversely by first folding the end edges toward the center and then folding the drape in half.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,288,135 discloses a bifurcated surgical drape which is folded longitudinally along a line paralleling the upper edge of the drape. The drape may thereafter be folded along a second, vertically extending line joining the top and bottom edges.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,458 discloses a disposable, fenestrated surgical drape which is shortened longitudinally by fan-folding from the top and bottom ends toward the center to provide two stacks of folds. The drape is shortened transversely in the same manner.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,721,234 discloses a disposable fenestrated surgical cover sheet which is fan-folded inwardly from its longitudinal and transverse edges to produce a compact, generally rectangular package.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,206 discloses a fenestrated drape in which a pair of longitudinally extending fold lines define a pair of side panels which are folded against a central panel extending between said longitudinal fold lines. Each of the side panels has a longitudinally extending panel fold line which is adjacent to and spaced from its side edge. These longitudinally extending panel fold lines define a pair of edge panels which are folded back upon a portion of their respective side panels. The transversely folded drape may be shortened longitudinally, as seen in FIG. 6 of the patent, by ordinary fan-folding.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,476 discloses an interlocked surgical drape comprising a sheet having a plurality of longitudinally extending fold lines paralleling the side edges thereof. The sheet is fan-folded from each side edge toward the center to provide two stacks of folds which lie adjacent each other, this folding producing a first folded unit which is reduced in width. The first folded unit is then folded along a fold line in the mid-region thereof to define a pair of contiguous end portions which extend from the mid-region fold line and which have free ends. The contiguous end portions are then fan-folded a sufficient number of times to interleave them, thus interlocking the drape and preventing premature unfolding.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,221 discloses a drape assembly for a surgical equipment table, said drape comprising a set-up drape and a table drape. The table drape is fan-folded in both the transverse and lateral directions.
Sterile drapes of the aforementioned kind are usually applied to patients, instrument tables, operating room tables, and the like in preparation for surgery. The surgical drape, in addition to protecting the surgically prepared areas of the patient's skin from contamination, also protects surgeons and nurses and their operating room apparel against contamination through contact with unprepared or contaminated areas of the skin which might be a source of infection.
There are usually two kinds of nurses present in the operating room. One is referred to as the "scrub" nurse, that is, a nurse who has scrubbed and disinfected exposed areas of the skin, wears gloves, and is deemed to be sterile. The other kind of nurse present in the operating room is referred to as a circulating nurse, that is, a nurse who has not scrubbed, who does not wear gloves, and who is considered non-sterile. Sterile drapes and instruments may be handled by the scrub nurse without destroying their sterility. Items or surfaces which have been contacted by the circulating nurse, however, have the sterility destroyed and must either be replaced or used in such fashion that the surface which is contaminated (or deemed to be contaminated) will not be exposed. Thus, in the case of a sterile surgical drape, for example, it would be permissible for the circulating nurse to handle a particular area of the drape if the particular area so handled does not thereafter contact a sterile surface.
Advantageously, a drape folded in accordance with the present invention may be applied by a circulating (non-sterile) nurse without danger of contaminating an existing aseptic field (for example, the surgically prepared skin of a patient) over which it is placed. Additionally, the folded drape may be applied by the circulating nurse to, for example, a back table to provide a sterile surface on which other sterile items, such as drapes or equipment, may be placed without the danger of contaminating the same.